Utica Councilman Marino Calls For Review Of City Public Safety Policies

Following this summer's spike in violent crime in Utica, 4th ward Councilman Joe Marino is calling for a 'top-down' review of public safety policies in the city.

In a letter to Mayor Robert Palmieri - who is also the public safety commissioner - Marino says recent tragic incidents have raised serious safety questions among his constituents, and he says he feels a review could save lives.

"We can't rely on luck to lead our public safety strategy," Marino said. "I do not want to attend the funeral of an innocent person because that luck ran out. We need a plan."

He says one example is that an old policy that gave police backup in high crime areas by putting two officers in a patrol car should be reinstated.

"We know shots fired calls have gone up dramatically in recent years," Marino said. "So what does that response look like? Are we sending just one car and one officer into potential danger?"

Marino wants to make sure policies like this and others such as response time and how police deal with the surge in gun violence are reviewed and up to date.

He is calling on the mayor/public safety commissioner to institute a full review and to brief the council, and will lobby the Common Council to make any changes necessary to keep citizens and Utica personnel safe.